49 of 71 homicides Black lives…Time for more community action

The summer has officially ended and hopefully the senseless Black on Black violence will too. With 71 homicides in Allegheny County thus far this year, the total is still less than that of last year’s total at this time which was 79. There is still hope for a less deadly year than that of 2012.

The month of September was filled with the senseless loss of Black men, all 40 years old and under, the youngest being 17. Senseless murders like that of Fabian Nixon, a father of four, who was shot to death in his car, after leaving a bar in the North Side. He reportedly had no dispute or altercation. Now his children will have to grow up without their father and for no reason. Then there was the homicide of Qaeed Braxton, who was killed during an altercation that involved a girl; a girl he was not even involved with. And because the shooter did not have the composure to walk away, instead of walking to his vehicle and getting his gun, a man is now gone. Then there is 17-year-old Dayjon Parker who was shot and killed, and then his body discarded like a piece of garbage.We are losing too many of our young people, especially our men, to these streets. Before, one used to have to be involved in the street “game” to be harmed; now one can be an innocent bystander and still get caught up. We cannot let the streets overtake our communities and our futures-our young people who will be our future councilmen and women, teachers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, etc. We, as a community, cannot afford to just sit back silently and wait for this epidemic of Black on Black violence to just go away. And we also cannot wait for others to come into our communities to clean them up. It is time we took action. The price for silence is the loss of our future generations and that’s a price we cannot afford to pay.As part of an ongoing effort to heighten awareness about the effects of murder in Black communities, the New Pittsburgh Courier will compile a list of homicides in the County each month. It is our hope that as the list of victims grows, so will a true understanding of how these lost lives affect the mental health, economic well-being and self-images of the region’s Black neighborhoods.Out of the 71 murders, thus far, in 2013—49 were Black and 42 were Black men.SEPTEMBER HOMICIDES (9)SEPT. 4—William Scott, a 24-year-old Black male from Penn Hills, was found on Aug. 26, fatally shot in the torso and right arm in the driver’s seat of a parked car in the intersection of Frankstown and North Lang Avenues in Homewood. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital; where he died a week later. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. SEPT. 8—Shawn Evans, a 56-year-old White male from Bloomfield, was shot to death at Condrins Tavern, located at 4501 Torley St., in Bloomfield, after what seems to have been a drunken fight with his friend Kenneth Farnan, a Pittsburgh police officer and former marine. Evans was shot in the torso multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Farnan has been charged with criminal homicide; he is awaiting his trial. SEPT. 9—Dayjon Parker, a 17-year-old Black male from Homewood, was found shot in the head in the backseat of a vehicle parked in the 7300 block of Formosa Way in Homewood. It is believed that Parker was shot in Wilkinsburg and then his body was dumped in Homewood. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing.SEPT. 16—Derrail Roilton, a 24-year-old Black male from Braddock, was shot to death on Second Avenue in Braddock, shortly after leaving a bar in Homewood. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is still ongoing. SEPT. 16—Anton Smith, a 19-year-old Black male from Homewood, was found shot multiple times in the 7100 block of Mount Vernon Street in Homewood. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing.SEPT. 17—Harold Cabbagestalk, a 40-year-old Black male, from Pittsburgh, was found shot multiple times on Sept. 16 at the Flamingo Bar on Wylie Avenue in the Hill District. He was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital, where he died the next day. Cabbagestalk had once been associated with a local gang and had been charged with two murders, although he was never convicted of either. Jay Morrison has been charged with criminal homicide and weapons violation. It has been reported that Morrison allegedly shot Cabbagestalk after a dispute that had turned physical. Morrison is awaiting trial.SEPT. 17—Andrew Stevens, a 23-year-old White male from Munhall, was fatally shot when he and another male attempted to burglarize a detached garage in the 100 block of East Eugene Avenue in Munhall. Stevens and his friend decided to enter the garage, when confronted by the owner, Stevens shot at him and the owner returned fire, hitting him. The owner is not expected to face charges; the incident is still under investigation.SEPT. 21—Fabian Nixon, a 40-year-old Black male from the North Side, was found shot multiple times in his vehicle in the 3100 block of McClure Avenue in the North Side. He had just left Jack’s Bar and got into his vehicle when someone began to fire shots. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing.SEPT. 22—Qaeed Braxton, a 36-year-old Black male from Duquesne, was found fatally shot with a gunshot wound to the chest near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Amity Street in Homestead. Braxton and his friend allegedly got into an altercation with Wilbert Keith Johnson over Johnson’s formal girlfriend, who was the current girlfriend of one of the men with Braxton. When the group left, Johnson allegedly followed, getting a gun out of his car and firing it, hitting Braxton. Braxton was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital; where he later died. Johnson is charged with homicide; he is awaiting trial.